Text & Photographs | Thomas Andy Branson

| Published on the 6th of March, 2022

| Cover: Grey seal (lat. Halichoerus grypus)

| Give seals space, and please do not disturb! (.pdf)

Some 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the city of Aberdeen, in the Scottish region of Aberdeenshire, lies one of the most geomorphologically active sand dune systems in Europe. In the centre of this area, the tidal action of the North Sea formed the Ythan Estuary, the most important coastal wetland in the northern part of the UK.

The Ythan Estuary* – which can reach a width of 750 metres depending on the time of year – together with the sand dunes in the area north of the estuary – that are up to 80 metres high – forms the Forvie National Nature Reserve*, which is owned and managed by NatureScot*, Scotland's Nature Agency.

Ythan Estuary (aerial) & Sands of Forvie

Formed from sediment remnants that were carried by rivers to the coast at the end of the last ice age, the sand dunes (Sands of Forvie) are the fifth largest sand dune system in Britain. The sand dunes within the reserve boundaries cover 1,000 hectares and are a place of unusually rich biodiversity, primarily due to a lack of human activity.

Scientists have so far identified 225 species of birds in this area, among which the colony of Common eiders (lat. Somateria mollissima) is the largest in terms of population. The 6,000 eiders that visit the reserve during the summer, and the 1,000 that visit during winter months, represent the largest British colony of Common eiders. Forvie is also the biggest nesting place in Britain for this species of seabirds from the duck family.

Common eiders (lat. Somateria mollissima)

The largest Scottish colony of Sandwich terns (lat. Thalasseus sandvicensis), comprising some 1,500 individuals, also lives here. It is easy to spot Arctic terns (lat. Sterna paradisaea), Common terns (lat. Sterna hirundo), Little terns (lat. Sternula albifrons), Oystercatchers (lat. Haematopus ostralegus) and other birds.

The most memorable event in early spring is the end of the winter feeding season for geese that migrated to Scotland in early October from Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard. Some 20,000 to 25,000 Pink-footed geese (lat. Anser brachyrhynchus) – about 10% of the global population – start their 5,500 kilometres (3,400 miles) return journey to Iceland from Loch Leven, an area between Edinburgh and Dundee. Also in early spring, the entire population of 40,000 Barnacle geese (lat. Branta leucopsis) heads back from Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve in Scotland to its northern habitat on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

At the beginning of October each year, around 35,000 Pink-footed geese stay in the Forvie reserve for a short period before continuing their journey further south, while some 5,000 of them remain during winter.

Sandwich tern (lat. Thalasseus sandvicensis)

Forvie National Nature Reserve is also home to 5,500 birds from 12 different shorebird (lat. Charadriiformes) species during the winter months. These include the highly dynamic Semipalmated sandpiper (lat. Calidris pusilla), as well as feathered game such as ducks and geese, some of which follow the same migratory journeys as the Pink-footed and Barnacle geese when returning to Iceland and Greenland in early spring.

In addition to an abundance of birds, Grey seals (lat. Halichoerus grypus) and Harbour seals[1] (lat. Phoca vitulina) have found a home at the mouth of the River Ythan in the Forvie National Nature Reserve. Thanks to the flow of the river into the North Sea that divides the coastal area, it is possible for visitors from the opposite shore (at Newburgh Beach*[2]) to observe the colony of between 400 and 1,000 Grey seals in high season without disturbing their peace and daily rest.

Oystercatchers (lat. Haematopus ostralegus)

For this reason, Forvie is considered one of the best and most accessible locations in Scotland to observe the behaviour of these seals and listen to their communication. During the breeding season (autumn), one can hear the males barking as they try to establish their dominance over each other, while later in the year, one can eavesdrop on the females communicating with their mischievous pups.

Over 80% of the UK Harbour seal population lives in Scotland. That equates to 24% of the European subspecies or approximately 4% of the world population of this seal species. In addition, around 36% of the global population of Grey seals breeds in the UK, of which 90% are from colonies in Scotland. The main concentrations are in the Inner and Outer Hebrides and Orkney[3].

Grey seal (lat. Halichoerus grypus)

Forvie National Nature Reserve is a particularly important place for the protection and enhancement of biodiversity, where several other animal and plant species successfully withstand the challenging climate. Being an area completely covered with sand and dunes it is often compared to the Sahara.

Scotland has more than 50,000 hectares[4] of sand dunes, which is 71% of Great Britain’s coastal sand. The total sand dune area without machair[5] would be about 38,300 hectares. Most machair systems are fronted by sand dunes, and dune systems can be found all around Scotland’s coast, although they are less common on the mainland between Glasgow and Kyle of Lochalsh.

If a seal is looking at us (when on land or in the water) it is aware of our presence. Its fight or flight response has been activated. Remain quiet and back off to avoid it moving away.